Memory Love
by Suki-Itami
Summary: A young girl from Xing with a forgotten past travels to Amestris to discover herself. While there, she happens to run into the perv of the Amestrian Army. But...he could be the key to unlocking her unfortunate past.
1. The Cselkcess Ruins

The heat bore down on her like a hunter to its prey; a light brown knee length cloak with a hood was the only thing preventing her from getting sunburned. She walked rather fast through the vast sandy desert – which the people from the country she was traveling from, Xing, call The Great Desert. The hood on her cloak was up, preventing the sun from hitting her face. Her purple legging and purple sandals were the only things showing due to the cloak she was wearing.

She had been traveling in The Great Desert for what seemed like days now but, in truth, it had only been one day since she left Xing. She was actually making good time; she was traveling to the country of Amestris to find out whom she really was and, even though she left only a day ago, she about a days' journey left. The Cselkcess ruins would be coming up shortly, there she would rest for the remainder of the day and to dawn of the next day.

A blast of hot air came from the west, the direction she was heading, and blew the hood off of her head. She put up her arms to defend her eyes from the sand that followed the blast air as she stopped to wait for the gust to pass. Her long black hair that was bound in a single ponytail on the top of her head blew around her head swiftly and violently as the gust passed by with sand following it quickly.

When the sand finally passed her by, she brought her arms down from her face, relieving a young girl with a perfectly rounded face and blue eyes that sparkled in the desert sun. Her name was Shinobu, a young girl who couldn't have been more than twenty years old. The Emperor of Xing gave her the name Shinobu when she turned up on the outside of the western border and he made her his adopted daughter. She technically was a princess of Xing but recently her "father" has become stricken with illness and told her to return to the place where she most likely came from; Amestris. Of course, Shinobu had no memories of before she came to Xing, but she did as her "father" said anyway.

Shinobu became angry all of a sudden and kicked a nearby rock with her toe, wearing sandals as she was, it hurt. "Damn desert! When am I going to get to the Cselkcess ruins?!" Shinobu cursed at the sand, holding her toe where she kicked the rock.

Shinobu's head shot up, someone was nearby. She looked around her only to find a little boy walking toward her. She walked over to the boy, he must've heard her just a second ago. People in **Xing** probably heard her!

The boy looked up at her kindly, he didn't look like someone from Xing, he must've been from Amestris. "Hey miss, I couldn't help but hear you say something about the Cselkcess ruins."

"Yeah, I might've said something about that." Shinobu laughed, her toe still pounding from where she kicked the rock.

The boy smiled at Shinobu and turned from her. "I know the way, follow me." The boy ran off to the west.

Shinobu followed him, running not too far behind, but not too close so as to make sure she didn't get ahead of her guide.

Then, not too much longer later, the Cselkcess ruins came into view. Shinobu smiled in relief; the boy had a lot of energy in him, he ran all the way up to the ruins. Shinobu, being a bit older, didn't have as much energy as the boy so she was gasping for breath as she reached the ruins.

Shinobu looked around the ruins in awe. Half of a circle for the purification arts was on a far wall, broken tiers lay strewn around the area, some still barely standing. A fountain full of cool water was in the middle of the ruins. Shinobu ran over to the fountain with her remaining energy and dunked her head into it, suddenly feeling a lot better.

Someone pulled out her head from the fountain; it was an elderly man that didn't look like someone you messed with.

Shinobu smiled a little at the old man. "I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

The old man sighed. "Slightly. That's for drinking only, not baths."

Shinobu laughed and shook her head, water flying in all directions from her water drenched head. "Sorry, I'm from Xing, traveling to Amestris."

"From Xing to Amestris, eh?" The old man asked, sitting down a tier that had fallen down long ago.

Shinobu sat down on the edge of the fountain and nodded. "Yes, I'm going to rest here for tonight then continue the last stretch first thing in the morning." Shinobu looked up at the circle of the purification arts. "I should be in Amestris by noon tomorrow if I'm lucky."

"That's good." The old man looked up at the circle too. "Do you know anything of Alchemy?"

Shinobu looked at the old man then at the ground. "N…No, I'm afraid I know nothing of this 'Alchemy' you speak of."

The old man hit himself on the head with the heel of his hand. "Oh, in Xing they it Rendanshu. Do you know anything of Rendanshu?"

Shinobu looked up at the old man. "Very little." Shinobu paused a second. "Is there anywhere I can rest?"

"Ah, yes. How rude of me!" The old man stood up and led Shinobu to a small tent area.

People were busy running from place to place, everyone with heavy blankets in their hands.

A woman about Shinobu's age handed her two **heavy** blankets then moved on. Shinobu could hold onto them no problem but didn't understand the purpose of the blankets.

The old man opened up a small tent made for one person temporarily. "Here's where you're staying for tonight."

Shinobu ducked into the tent and spread out the blankets for something soft to sit on. "Thanks."

"I get up at the crack of dawn so I'll show you the way out so you can go to Amestris tomorrow." The old man said, shutting the flap of the tent.

Once the old man was gone, Shinobu took off the light brown cloak and relieved that she was wearing a short red robe that went a little above her knees, purple gloves and a purple silk belt going around her waist, tied in the back in a small bow. Her purple leggings were still in one piece, surprisingly enough.

Shinobu looked at the small bump on her toe from the rock; it didn't bleed at all, it was just really red and hurt like hell. Shinobu sighed, she wasn't too happy with the pain or the rude welcoming the old man had given her by pulling her head out of the fountain just when she became cooled off.

"Ladies, bath time!" Someone outside shouted.

Shinobu peaked outside of her tent and saw about a handful of women passing her as they carried towels, washcloths, shampoo, and soap. She crawled out of her tent and followed the other women to a small, clear, pond area. The bathing area.

Shinobu stank and felt really dirty because of being a day in the desert without a bath since before she left Xing. She got undressed along with the other women and got into the pond. Shinobu still had her hair up in a ponytail, just sitting there with the water up to the her nose.

There was a young girl of maybe about six or seven next to her, washing her hair. She noticed Shinobu just sitting there. "Do you want some shampoo?" The girl asked, rinsing her hair out.

Shinobu shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Ok, if you're sure." The girl said, turning away from Shinobu.

A woman a little older than Shinobu swam over to where she was sitting with about two other women.

She sat down on the rock shelf that Shinobu was sitting on. "Hello, you're a new face." She didn't have an accent like people from Xing and she also didn't look like someone from Xing, unlike her friends.

Shinobu brought the bottom half of her face that had been hidden up from under the water. "Traveling from Xing to Amestris."

"Really?" The woman seemed interested. "Well, that's not too far from here."

Shinobu nodded. "No, it's not."

The woman put one arm around Shinobu's shoulders. "Well then, dear, enjoy your stay." The woman smiled a little. "But we must do the traditional welcoming for women, just as men have their own thing, we have our own."

Shinobu was trying hard not to keep from blushing, it was strange to have some random woman putting her arm around Shinobu's shoulders. "Which…is?"

The woman laughed. "You get one guess…"

Shinobu's face turned light red as she stepped out of the pond and quickly got dressed, walking fast back to her tent. Her hair was still wet and therefore got the back of her red robe wet. Shinobu's wet hair also got the blankets wet as she laid down.

The sun was setting now and Shinobu was tired, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

…

_A vast city lay before her, a large building with a green flag with some form of crest draped over this building that stood proudly in the very center of this city. Around it, small apartments and houses stood along side it, ranging in size._

_People flooded the streets, going about their business like every other day. Small children played where there were no cars or adults. Women with babies in their arms talked with their friends happily about their new child. Men in uniforms walked around the city, some entered a gate to the building in the middle of the city, running quite fast. The few cars that past had the crest that the flag over the building had._

_Shinobu walked through this city, taking care not to bump into anyone. She didn't notice when a small boy ran right through her, as if she wasn't even there._

_Shinobu looked at all of the people she passed, looking at each of their faces carefully and hoping no one would notice her staring. None of the people she passed had a face like those in Xing had: they were the Amestrians._

_Shinobu made her way slowly to the building in the middle of the city, she was curious as to why the building was gated off. Then, as if knowing what she was thinking, a man a little older than Shinobu with blonde hair and dirty blonde, spiky, bangs and an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth, dressed in a dark blue uniform with some stars on the shoulders that showed rank, ran up to the gate._

_He stopped and caught his breath a minute, taking the cigarette out of his mouth then putting it right back where it was. "Lt. Jean Havoc, let me in."_

_The guards at the gate opened it up and Shinobu followed him inside, the guards didn't even see her as she walked right past them and into the building behind Havoc._

_Then a man wearing the same kind of uniform, except with more stars and a silver pocket-watch, a stern face, and black hair came stomping down a set of wide set stairs. "Havoc, you mind explaining why you're late __**again**__?!" The man shouted, he seemed pissed off._

_Havoc sighed. "Sorry Colonel woke up late."_

_The Colonel glared at Havoc then walked back up the stairs with Havoc not far behind._

_Shinobu took a step to follow the two men but the scene started to fade. A black and red liquid looking space filled the scene where the walls of the building had once been._

_Then a snake came out from the black and red liquid and hissed at her, baring its fangs._

…

Shinobu shot up, covered in a cold sweat. She was shaking slightly but shook it off quickly and stood up, her clothes were dry enough.

Shinobu grabbed her cloak and walked out of the tent, the sun was rising. She walked over to the fountain area and found the old man sitting on the same tier as he was yesterday…drinking coffee?

The old man heard her approach and turned around to look her in the face. "Hello young one."

Shinobu sat down on the edge of the fountain again and yawned. "Morning."

"So, are you heading out?" The old man asked.

"Yeah. In a few minutes." Shinobu said. "As soon as you show me the way to Amestris."

The old man stood up. "Yes, I suppose that's true."

Shinobu stood up and put her cloak back on. "Thanks again."

The old man shrugged and walked toward the purification arts circle. Shinobu paused for a moment to look at the middle of the circle. In the middle was the same crest she saw on the building in her dream. Shinobu quickly walked on though, thinking about it.

The old man stopped in front of two tiers that were still standing side by side.

Shinobu stopped right in front of the old man.

"Just keep going west until you reach the mining town of Youswell, there you can catch a train to anywhere in Amestris." The old man said, handing Shinobu a slip of paper with city names on it.

Shinobu looked over the paper then back at the old man. "Is there a city in Amestris that has a large building with a green flag draped over it that has a white crest like the one in the middle of the purification circle here in the ruins?"

The old man walked over the circle then realized what she was talking about and walked back over. "Yes, Central."

"Central?" Shinobu confirmed.

The old man took the paper and circled the name "Central". "Central City, Amestris. The military of Amestris has their central HQ there."

Shinobu realized that mean that the two men that she had tried to follow were part of the Amestrian military. Shinobu took the paper and bowed in thanks, then ran off to finish the last stretch of her journey to Amestris.

Next Time;

Amestris – Youswell Mining Town:

Shinobu arrives in Youswell, Amestris and meets some people there who know a lot about the country and Central City.


	2. Amestris: Youswell Mining Town

Memory Love

[Amestris – Youswell Mining Town]

Shinobu ran quickly through the desert, the wind kicking up sand around her as she ran. There were few times when the signs of a sand storm started appearing, but that just encouraged her to run faster than before. By the time Shinobu stopped it was nearly dusk, the sun was setting behind her and as it did she looked back to the east…to where her home for the past five-ten years lay just beyond the horizon. But quickly focused back toward the west, towards her destination of Amestris.

When Shinobu looked forward again, she saw the outline of a small town no more than half a mile away. She smiled to herself and, once she caught her breath, started running again.

After about five minutes Shinobu was right on the edge of the town, once in the town she could already feel the tension of the country she was in. Despite the tension clearly in the air, Shinobu enjoyed the sight of the town that looked so strange to her, so new and different. Wooden buildings of various sizes filled both sides of the streets, some with signs on them indicating an inn, or a pub, or a restaurant. At the other end of the town was a train station, and to left of that was another street that led to the coalmines.

Shinobu, eager to get to Central, made a beeline to the train station. The ticket master was reading something and didn't see her walk up.

Shinobu knocked on the wood of the desk to get his attention, once it was got she said, "One ticket for Central City."

The ticket master pulled out a ticket but before he handed it to her, he stuck out his empty hand. "Two-Hundred Sens."

Shinobu's eyes became wide as she realized that she didn't have Amestrian money. She had money from Xing with her! Shinobu pulled out her wallet anyway and slowly handed the ticket master Two-Hundred **Yen**.

"This isn't our currency…" The ticket master said with a weird look on his face. "You got into the country and you somehow got here, **without** exchanging your money?!"

Shinobu sweatdropped and laughed nervously.

Just then a boy of maybe thirteen walked up and tapped Shinobu on the shoulder. He had short blonde-brown hair, green eyes, and wore miners' clothes. (Except the hat) He had a bandage across his nose; making it known that he was a hard worker.

"What's going on?" The boy asked Shinobu and the ticket master.

The ticket master handed the boy the money that Shinobu had handed him. "This isn't our currency."

The boy looked at the money and nodded. "It's not…" He handed Shinobu her money and then looked strangely at her. "How'd you get here?"

"I crossed the Great Desert from Xing." Shinobu said without much enthusiasm, fatigue was catching up with her.

The boy sighed and hung his head. "Another one…?"

"Huh?" Shinobu was confused; she knew that some of the people from Xing came here soon after the Emperor fell ill but didn't know that they had come through here.

"Do you know a girl named May Chang?" The boy asked.

Shinobu nodded. "She's my adopted sister…why?"

The boy sighed again. "No reason." He stuck his hand out. "I'm Khayal. My dad runs a local inn."

Shinobu shook Khayal's hand. "I'm Shinobu. I'd like a place to stay for the…" Shinobu dropped to the ground, asleep. Fatigue had caught up with her **fast**.

Khayal, freaking out a little, sighed. _She's just like the other one…_ "Hey dad, there's another one from Xing out here!"

Khayal's dad, a strong built man and older version of Khayal, walked out and picked Shinobu up. He carried to the inn and laid her down in a room, deciding that she could pay in the morning.

Shinobu woke up the next morning, actually afternoon, and found that she was in a soft bed. She had thought she was back in Xing in her bed, in **her** room, for a moment…but then when she noticed sunlight pouring through the curtains in the window knew she was not. She was in the country of Amestris.

Shinobu sat up and looked around the room, for a place that she had never been to, she felt right at home. _I can't explain it…but it's like I've been here, in a place like this, before._ She shrugged and stood up, she could tell by how much light was in the room that it was late into the day.

Shinobu walked out of her room and found that there were only a few people in the pub area, some kids were playing and some women were talking…but that was it. She had no idea where the men would be at this hour, and why the women were sitting around talking.

One of the women greeted her and Shinobu nodded in response as she walked out of the inn and into the town. Khayal was sitting with some other boys his age, a map of the town was in the middle of the groups' circle.

Shinobu walked up behind Khayal and started looking at the map.

Khayal, noticing Shinobu's presence, glared up at her. "What do you want?"

Shinobu glared right back at him. "If you **must** know, I need Amestrian money before I can start exploring this country."

Khayal sighed and stood up. "Fine, lets go find my dad. He knows this stuff better than anyone."

Shinobu followed Khayal over to the mining area; his dad was in cave number 8, the farthest one. Not too much longer after they started of toward that direction, there was a loud noise coming from the direction they were going.

The two started running toward the mine faster, and when they got there they saw that cave number 8 had collapsed. Khayal almost jumped across the gorge that the collapse had left, yelling for his dad, but someone caught him before he could.

Shinobu thought for a minute then thought of something she could do. Shinobu shrugged off her cloak and pulled out two suntetsu's from her pockets. (Suntetsu = Hidden Knife) With one she drew a pentagram in the dirt and stuck it in the middle. The other one she threw across to the pile of rubble, hard enough to where it would stay implanted in the rocks. Khayal and the others were taken off guard by the suntetsu flying by their heads, but didn't move as it did.

Shinobu quickly put her hands down on the pentagram in front of her and another pentagram, nearly twice the original's size, appeared on the rubble. The rocks quickly maneuvered back into place, where they once were, and the cave was fixed in no time.

Khayal and the others, though they had seen this once before, stood in shock as the cave was fixed. Khayal looked back at Shinobu with a stunned face.

Shinobu smiled back. "A way to thank you for letting me stay the night and helping me to get Amestrian money."

Khayal and the others celebrated as all of the miners who had been trapped inside slowly made their way out of the mine. Once the miners were all back, Khayal's father agreed to help Shinobu convert her money and didn't charge her for the night before.

"…and One-Hundred of your money would be Three-Hundred of our money…so…you have…" Khayal's dad said as he calculated how many Sens to give Shinobu. "One-Thousand Seven-Hundred and Fifty Sens." He said as he handed Shinobu her money.

Shinobu stared in amazement at how much money she had. She had only brought Five-Hundred and Fifty Yen with her in the first place, now she has over twice that amount in Sens.

"Um, are you sure I don't need to pay you for last night?" Shinobu asked, still in shock.

"Yes!" Khayal said for the umpteenth time. "You saved a lot of lives today, Shinobu, you don't need to pay us anything."

"And you can stay here **tonight** for free too." Khayal's dad said as he put the money from Xing in a safe.

Shinobu smiled at the humbleness and generosity of the Amestrians. "Thank you. I'll heading to bed now." She said as she stood up.

A happily drunken man nearby said, "Whys not stays and haves a drinks?" The drunken slur on his voice was obvious, as was the rank stench of alcohol on his breath.

Shinobu declined kindly and walked into the room that Khayal's family was letting her use for the night. She leaned against the door after shutting it and thought of Xing, about how different it was here than there. Public intoxication was illegal in Xing, women were working in the afternoon, and somebody would've woken her up at the crack of dawn back there. Although she smiled, Shinobu was sad about not being at her home.

After a moment or two Shinobu jumped into the bed and shut her eyes, allowing sleep to come to her until the next day.

_Shinobu was standing in the middle of what looked like war zone. Buildings all around her were broken and strewn about, some places were still smoldering. She looked all around her, searching for something to tell her that this wasn't all around her…but to no avail. The genocide surrounded Shinobu like a pack of wolves to a fox._

_Shinobu looked down, not able to look at the genocide any longer and found that she was wearing a uniform that two men in her other dream had been wearing. A silver pocket watch hung from a belt loop of her pants, the white gloves she was wearing were decorated with intricate designs, none of which she knew._

_There was a high-pitched screaming from behind her and Shinobu turned to see what it was. A woman, blood covering her from head to toe, walked with a little boy in her arms. Shinobu could see that the woman had red eyes, and there was a part of her skin that was shown from beneath the blood._

_The woman had dark skin and red eyes, just like the child, and only one word came to Shinobu's thoughts; Ishbalan._

"_Get out! Get out of Ishbala's land, you sinner! State Alchemist!!" The woman shouted loud enough to make Shinobu annoyed._

_Shinobu didn't respond to that, but instead raised her hand and said, "You will join that child in death soon enough." _

_Then a greenish glow came from beneath the woman and a column of rock rose up and ran the woman and the already dead child through. The woman's high-pitched scream could be heard for miles._

"_That's enough, Elemental Alchemist." The Colonel from Shinobu's other dream said to her._

_For a reason that she couldn't explain, Shinobu responded to being called "Elemental Alchemist". "Just doing my duty to the Fuehrer." She said coldly._

_It was only then did Shinobu realize that she wasn't in her own body, but in the body of another. She would never act so coldly towards anyone, and never take an innocent life. That woman had not even attacked her and didn't seem like she was going to._

_The Colonel nodded. "Lets go back to the camp…Iron-Blood is waiting for us to get back."_

_Shinobu(?) nodded and followed the Colonel back to the camp._

Shinobu woke up earlier than usual and curled up into a ball and cried. She partially knew why this country had given her such a bad feeling. There had been massacre in this country, and it seemed like the "State Alchemists" had been involved.

Shinobu sat up and dried her tears. Though she's a little scared what the Amestrian alchemists would do if they found out she was from Xing, she knew she had to continue forward to discover who she truly was though…she just hoped she hadn't been involved in that massacre.

Next Time:

Amestris – Central City;

Central City, Amestris…this is where the military is stationed and also where the State Alchemists are. But maybe not everyone in the military is so bad…one is even a flirt!


	3. Amestris: Central City

After nearly an hour, Shinobu sat up and looked over at the curtain. Very little light poured in, it must've been only sunrise but the first train would be coming in shortly.

Shinobu stood up and walked out of her room and into the diner/check in room. Nobody was awake, so nobody could tell her how much to pay. Shinobu took out Two-Hundred Sens and placed it on the counter next to a note that said: _I wanted to pay you something._

She then walked out the door and to the station. She paid the ticket master the amount needed and sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the train to Central City.

After only ten minutes, the train rolled up and stopped. A man shouted for everyone to board quickly, which was only Shinobu, before the train left. Shinobu ran on the train, giving the strange man her ticket before boarding. She sat in a middle car, this being her first time riding a train she didn't know what to make of it. When the train started moving, she started forward and almost fell flat on her face…but someone had caught her.

Shinobu looked up to see who it was that had caught her and saw the same man from her dream. Lt. Jean Havoc. The only difference was that he wasn't wearing a military uniform, but a black t-shirt and a pair of slacks.

"Are you okay?" Havoc asked Shinobu, the cigarette in his mouth moving with his bottom lip.

Shinobu nodded and sat up straight. "I'm…fine…"

Havoc laughed a little, he seemed strangely relaxed around Shinobu. "You seem a little out of it. By the way, I'm Jean Havoc, call me Jean."

"Shinobu." She looked down, avoiding Havoc's eyes. She didn't know what he would do if he were a State Alchemist and knew she was from Xing, and it scared her.

"Embarrassed? Can't really blame you, almost falling off of your seat on a train, like you've never been on one before, is pretty embarrassing."

Shinobu laughed nervously.

"Don't worry, Shinobu, I won't tell anyone." Havoc smiled.

Shinobu looked up for just a second and saw that Havoc's smile was soft and kind. He didn't seem like the kind of person Shinobu saw the State Alchemist's as. Suddenly, Shinobu felt as if she could tell him anything and that he wouldn't care at all.

"Jean…" Shinobu started, her heart racing.

"Yes, Shinobu?" Havoc asked, leaning forward to where his face was only inches from hers.

Shinobu didn't draw back from him, as much as her mind told her to do so, she wouldn't. "I…"

Havoc leaned in closer and took the cigarette from his mouth. "You look…familiar. Have we met before?"

Shinobu shook her head. "I don't believe we have." She leaned back to the point that she was pretty much lying down in the seat. Shinobu wanted to tell him that she wasn't from Amestris, that she was from Xing…but his question made her not so sure anymore.

"What's wrong?" Havoc put his cigarette back in his mouth. "What were you going to say?"

"…I'm heading…to Central City." Shinobu said, looking out the window.

"Me too, I was on leave for a few weeks but now I'm heading back to work." Havoc said, leaning back.

"Hope we meet again." Shinobu said, smiling to herself.

Havoc looked down and said, "Do you…have a place to stay?"

"No…I'll find a place."

"Well, I live alone, why don't you stay with me during your stay…?"

Shinobu looked over at Havoc and smiled at him. "I'd like that."

Havoc looked up at Shinobu and smiled widely. "So, is Youswell your hometown?"

"No." Shinobu said, knowing that she'd tell him sooner or later…

"Well then, where do you come from?" Havoc asked, still smiling.

But she'd prefer that it be later. "I don't enjoy sharing my past."

"That's okay."

"How long to Central City?"

Havoc laughed again. "We should get there around five. I don't have to be at work until tomorrow so we can go straight to my place. And please call the place Central."

Shinobu nodded. "Jean…?"

"Hmm…?"

"Are you always this nice?"

Havoc shook his head. "Unfortunately, I gained the gene from my father known as lechery."

"So you only choose the girls who are cute…?"

Havoc nodded.

"Then why me?" Shinobu looked back out the window at the green trees and the rolling landscape pass by.

"What'd you mean? You're plenty cute!" Havoc all but shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you that, Ka–" Havoc stopped, realizing that he was talking to Shinobu.

Shinobu looked back at Havoc, confused. "That's the only time you've told me that. And who's Ka?"

Havoc looked at the ground. "I thought I was talking to someone else…I don't like to talk about it."

Shinobu nodded. "I understand."

For the next ten hours, an awkward silence had settled in between Shinobu and Havoc. Neither was sure what to say to the other. Once they reached Central, Havoc waited for Shinobu to get off the train before leading her to his apartment.

It wasn't very big, the walls painted an almost opaque white with very little on them. A small red sofa sat in front of a small TV, a wooden end table sat on the left side of the sofa with only a black lamp sitting on it. The carpet was a light brown color that reminded Shinobu of the sand in the Great Desert. The kitchen had the same color walls as the living room, but had tatami flooring. There was an electric stove/oven on the far wall, next to the refrigerator. Next to that was the sink. Underneath the sink, once the cabinets opened up, there was a trashcan. On the right wall all the cabinets sat on the wall, directly above counter tops with wooden cabinets under them. Directly in the center of the kitchen was a fold out table and fold out metal chairs. Havoc's bedroom had only a queen-sized bed against the far wall and end tables on either side. The carpet and walls the same as the living room. The bathroom was next to Havoc's bedroom, the same walls as the rest of the house but had white tile flooring the same color as the walls.

"…and that concludes the grand tour of the apartment." Havoc said.

Shinobu nodded, her bare feet felt strange on the carpet of Havoc's living room. Havoc had told Shinobu that because of the kitchen flooring that she had to take off her sandals.

Shinobu's stomach growled, she hadn't had anything to eat since in Youswell. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Havoc nodded and walked into the kitchen with Shinobu closely behind. "I don't have much…do you like Chicken Teriyaki?"

Shinobu shrugged. "I'm hungry, just make it."

"Yes ma'am." Havoc teased.

Shinobu put her hands on her hips defiantly. "You said that you were on leave. You're in the military?"

Havoc's shoulders slumped. "I had hoped that it wouldn't matter."

"It doesn't. I just need a job." Shinobu said innocently.

Havoc looked back over at Shinobu like she was crazy. "You want to join the military?"

Shinobu nodded. "Yes, I need a job and I already know you. Connection."

Havoc sighed and put the left over Chicken Teriyaki in the oven for five minutes then took it out. He and Shinobu had half of what was left, which wasn't very much to begin with but enough to satisfy Shinobu's hunger…well until…

"Do you have any cookies?" Shinobu asked with complete innocence.

Havoc eyed her funny then nodded. "In the top shelf of the cabinet closest to the living room."

Shinobu quickly located the cookies and grabbed the entire box. She sat back down in her seat across from Havoc and started eating the cookies straight out of the box.

Havoc sighed inwardly. _That was my last box of chocolate chip…_

Shinobu finished the box of cookies and threw the empty box in the trash. As she finished the cookies, Havoc put his plate in the sink and walked into his room. He took off his shirt and pants, pulling back the covers and sitting on his bed.

Shinobu walked in as Havoc pulled a picture out of a drawer in the end table. She saw that Havoc seemed sad about looking at the picture, but, though this was, no tears were falling from Havoc's eyes. Shinobu didn't want to walk in during this, afraid that Havoc would be mad but she didn't know where she was going to sleep.

Shinobu walked in and Havoc quickly put up the picture. Shinobu, acting like she saw nothing, asked, "Where do I sleep tonight?"

Havoc pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed. "Next to me."

Shinobu blushed lightly and walked over to the other side that Havoc wasn't laying on. She lay down next to Havoc, after stealing one of his baggy shirts and changing into it of course, and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Havoc rolled over onto his side to face Shinobu. "I'm sorry if I acted weird today…but you remind me so much of somebody I used to know."

Shinobu smiled and rolled on her side to face Havoc. "It's no big deal. I don't really know you, so I can't say that I can tell that you're down. I'll be here for you though."

Havoc smiled back and shut his eyes. Shinobu followed shortly after. Soon both were asleep, both dreaming. Of what, the other didn't know. But sometime during the night, their hands became linked together and their bodies drawn close, their foreheads touching the other in a silent promise.

Next Time:

Dog Of The Military;

Shinobu wants to work next to Havoc, but this might mean that she'll see more things about her past…and who's Kari?


	4. Dog of the Military

"_Hey Jean." Shinobu(?) said._

_Havoc turned to her voice and smiled, a box in his hands. "Yes, Kari…?"_

_Kari (Shinobu) saw the boxes as she opened the door to the dormitory room. Her and Havoc attended the Military Academy in the East, close to Ishbal._

_Kari (Shinobu) frowned. "Are you graduating?"_

_Havoc nodded. "Yeah, but not before they send me to Ishbal." Havoc sighed. "Aren't you in your last year?"_

_Kari (Shinobu) nodded. "They're sending me to Ishbal as well…Jean, we might not be in the same sector so please…be careful." She walked up to Havoc, took the box out of his hands, and wrapped her arms around him._

_Havoc put his arms around Kari (Shinobu) and sat down on the bed behind him, rocking her back and forth. "It's alright, I'll be fine…I'm worried about you though…so, I'm begging you to be careful."_

_She nodded. Kari (Shinobu) lifted her head and brought her lips to Havoc's for one quick kiss before running out of his dorm and back to hers._

…

Shinobu opened her eyes and found that she was lying in the bed alone, she heard noise in the kitchen and knew that Havoc was cooking. She rolled onto her back and sighed.

"Kari…" Shinobu mumbled. "Who **is** she?" Shinobu closed her eyes again. _Is she who Havoc doesn't want to talk about?_

Shinobu sat up and sighed again, deciding that it wasn't too important for her to be concerned with right now. She got out of the bed and changed back into her normal clothes, walking out into the living room.

Havoc looked over at her and smiled, setting down his breakfast on the table. "Morning Shinobu."

Shinobu looked at Havoc as he smiled and saw the Havoc from her dream flash in her mind's eye. "Jean…"

Havoc's expression changed to worry. "Shinobu are you okay?"

Shinobu quickly smiled and nodded. "Just thinking."

Havoc sighed. "Want some breakfast?"

Shinobu nodded and sat down at the table across from where Havoc was going to sit.

Havoc put some eggs onto a plate and sat them in front of Shinobu, who ate them without a second thought.

"What time are you going to work?" Shinobu asked, putting her plate in the sink and sitting back down.

Havoc looked at the clock. "In about an hour." He sighed and put his plate in the sink. "I have to get ready, do whatever…except destroy the house."

"Would I do that?" Shinobu asked innocently.

Havoc sighed and walked back into his room to get ready.

Shinobu plopped down on the couch and watched TV for about thirty minutes before Havoc walked back out.

Havoc was wearing a blue military uniform; there were strips of cloth on his uniform to signify what rank he was.

"What rank are you?" Shinobu asked, turning around to face him. She knew, but it would be suspicious if she didn't ask.

Havoc smiled. "I'm a Second Lieutenant. I'll soon be a First Lieutenant, if the Colonel ever tells the President."

Shinobu nodded and turned off the TV. "Are we going then?"

Havoc nodded and grabbed a cigarette. "Yeah, the Colonel will like that I'm actually early today."

Shinobu sighed. "It's bad to be late." She said as she put her shoes on.

Havoc shrugged as he put his boots on.

The two quickly made their way to Central HQ, right in the heart of Central. This time, when Shinobu tried to enter the grounds of the headquarters, the guards stopped her.

"She's with me." Havoc said calmly.

The guards allowed Shinobu to pass. The two made their way up a large staircase in the front of the building and into an office.

Havoc saluted. "Colonel Mustang."

Mustang looked at Havoc confusingly. "You're not…late?"

Havoc sighed. "No sir, I brought a new recruit today."

"So that's the occasion. At ease." Mustang said.

Havoc stepped aside so that Shinobu could enter the room and face Mustang.

"And you are?" Mustang asked, though he got that look on his face that said that he had seen her before.

"Shinobu." Shinobu said, bowing politely. "Colonel Mustang, correct…?"

Mustang nodded.

"I would like to join the ranks of the Amestrian military. If I can." Shinobu said with confidence.

Mustang smiled. "Of course you can. We always need more soldiers." He paused then added, "Have you considered trying the State Alchemist exam?"

Havoc tensed, he knew that Mustang had sensed it too. The feeling that she was someone from their past.

"Um…the what?" Shinobu was most definitely confused.

Mustang stood up and walked over to Shinobu, who saw the silver pocket watch and tensed. "The State Alchemy exam; it's a rigorous test, but if you pass you can get access to the most resourceful material for alchemy there is."

"Really?" This slightly interested Shinobu, she needed to learn something other than Rendanshu while in Amestris.

Mustang nodded. "You wanna try?"

Shinobu thought about it. "Well…"

A large explosion came from the first floor of the Central Command building just then. The three people in the room ran down the stairs to find Scar attacking the building.

"Damn!" Mustang said, pulling out his gloves. He snapped his fingers and a flame entrapped Scar where he stood.

"What in the…?" Shinobu had no idea what had just happened, other than Mustang went *snap* and the area around Scar became flames.

"Scar again." Havoc sighed.

Shinobu looked at Scar and saw the same skin and eye color as the woman from her dream the other night. "He's Ishbalan."

Mustang nodded. "And a crazy Ishbalan at that."

Scar jumped out from the ring of flames. "I will destroy you, State Alchemist!"

Shinobu quickly pulled out two Suntetsu's, carving a pentagram into the floor and sticking one in the middle while throwing the other one at Scar. When it got close enough, Shinobu put her hands on the pentagram on the floor and the Suntetsu exploded like a bomb, sending Scar flying out of the nearest window.

Havoc and Mustang stood with their mouths open; Shinobu just did alchemy…in their terms.

"You can do alchemy?" Havoc asked, amazed.

Shinobu shook her head. "I can do Rendanshu. It's slightly like alchemy, but it's Xing alchemy."

Havoc thought about what Shinobu had said yesterday and then what she had said just now. "You're from Xing, then?"

Shinobu tensed a little, she said too much. "Y-Yes, I'm from Xing."

Mustang smiled. "Xing, or Amestris, that was pretty impressive alchemy—Rendanshu. I'll put in a good word to the Fuehrer for you. Maybe you'll be the newest State Alchemist." Mustang walked back to his office. "Havoc, I want a word with you. Shinobu, you can go home, I'll call you if there's anything new."

Shinobu nodded and left the building as people started cleaning up.

…

"Sir, I just don't think that it's possible." Havoc told Mustang as he sat down in a chair across from where Mustang was sitting.

Mustang nodded. "I know what you mean, but Shinobu's display of alchemy earlier confirmed what I thought."

Havoc looked at the ground. "But…she's…Shinobu can't be…"

"Havoc," Mustang said sternly. "I thought that you of all people would be overjoyed at a day like this. It's possible that Elemental never died."

"She's dead, there's no bringing back the dead!" Havoc yelled at his superior.

Mustang sighed in frustration. "Did you ever think that it was possible that Elemental lost her memory and wandered out of the country?! Shinobu could be Elemental…or would you prefer for me to refer to her as Kari?"

Havoc wanted to smack Mustang for referring to something that was obviously painful for him, but knew that he could get discharged.

Mustang pulled out a file from a filing cabinet and threw it on his desk, the contents spreading over the desk. "Kari Kyoku, the Elemental Alchemist. Passed the exam by creating a perfectly detailed statue of the fuehrer president riding a horse out of earth and ice…while in his best uniform. Her written and psychological evaluations were near perfect."

"What are you getting at, sir?" Havoc asked almost angrily.

"Elemental's alchemy was almost better than my own. If she hadn't disappeared in Ishbal, then she would be the hero of Ishbal…instead of myself." Mustang sighed. "Shinobu's display of alchemy was much like Elemental. Don't you agree?"

Havoc nodded. "But what do you mean?"

Mustang sat down and said, "Shinobu **is** the Elemental Alchemist."

"What was that I heard about Elemental?" King Bradley asked as he walked in.

Havoc and Mustang stood up and saluted King Bradley as he walked in unexpectedly.

"At ease, gentlemen." King Bradley smiled.

Havoc and Mustang sat back down.

Bradley walked over and saw the file that was spread out on the desk. "Elemental's file?"

"Yes, sir." Mustang said calmly. "I believe that she's still alive…maybe she just lost her memory and traveled to Xing. Returning to us as Shinobu."

"Shinobu? Who's that?" King Bradley asked, interested.

"A traveler from Xing, sir." Havoc said. "She saved us from Scar not too long ago."

"I told her that I would get in touch with you and ask if she could try for the State Alchemy exam." Mustang said.

King Bradley nodded. "Why don't we just give her back her title?"

Havoc winced a little, Mustang saw but didn't say anything.

"Sir?" Mustang was confused now.

Bradley continued smiling. "If Shinobu is truly the Elemental Alchemist, then we have to just give her back her title."

Mustang and Havoc nodded. "Yes sir."

"Prove to me she's Elemental and I'll give her title back to her." Bradley said, walking out of the room. "See you later, gentlemen."

…

Shinobu sneezed. _Damn! I better not be getting a cold._

"Are you okay, ma'am?" The cashier at the supermarket asked.

Shinobu sighed. "I'll be fine. There's somebody talking about me somewhere, that's probably the problem."

She took the three grocery bags and walked back to Havoc's apartment. While she was putting everything away, Havoc walked in the door.

Shinobu smiled at Havoc. "Hey Jean, I bought groceries."

Havoc hugged Shinobu.

"Jean?" Shinobu was very confused, and she blushed a little.

"Is it really you?" Havoc asked to no one in particular.

"Are you alright?" Shinobu wrapped her arms around him. "Jean, what's wrong?" She rested her head on his shoulder subconsciously.

Havoc felt tears running down his face. "Shinobu…"

"Jean?" Shinobu asked again. "Tell me what's wrong."

Havoc softly said, "I love you, and I always will."

Shinobu blushed when he said that, she had just met him yesterday. "J-Jean?"

Havoc pulled away and put his lips over Shinobu's in a sweet affectionate kiss. Shinobu kissed him back, though she was confused. Havoc pulled away and hugged Shinobu again.

"Forgive me for not seeing." Havoc said softly.

Shinobu hugged him back and said, "I forgive you." _But, what do I forgive you __**for**__?_

Havoc picked up Shinobu and threw her down on the couch. He tried to lay down on top of her and kiss her again, but Shinobu stopped him.

"What are you doing?" Shinobu asked, her face becoming more and more red.

"I love you, and I want to show you." Havoc said sincerely.

"We just met…" Shinobu thought for a moment then said, "A date first."

Havoc smiled and nodded. Pulling Shinobu into another hug. "You forgive me?"

Shinobu, still very confused, hugged him. "I forgive you for anything that you've ever done."

Next Time:

The Elemental Alchemist Returns;

Shinobu is accepted as the Elemental Alchemist, Fullmetal makes an…interesting appearance, and more memories are beginning to return while she's awake. But, this can be handled…right?


	5. The Elemental Alchemist Returns

Shinobu sighed as a deformed looking statue made of earth and ice came from the ground…again. "Jean, why do I have to do this?"

"Because, the Fuehrer saw your display of Rendanshu and just wants you to make a State Alchemist if you can make this statue." Havoc said, sighing at the statue. The horse was perfect, but what was supposed to be the Fuehrer looked like a…bug.

Shinobu had been trying to make a statue of the Fuehrer for the past few hours, each time it came out deformed, but was always better than the last one. They were behind Central HQ, Mustang had told Shinobu that she could practice there because if she needed his help he was right there.

"Does the Fuehrer look like a bug, 'cause I can make a bug on a horse just fine…?" Shinobu asked, laughing.

Havoc laughed and then shook his head. "No, he looks like the statue in this picture." He showed her the picture of a statue of the Fuehrer made from earth and ice. It was the same one Kari had made years ago.

Shinobu sighed. "Why don't I just take the State Alchemy exam like everyone other person?"

"Because not everyone other person is recommended by the Fuehrer. Try again."

Shinobu looked at the white gloves on her hands, the designs were the same one's from her dream back when she was in Youswell. She clapped her hands together and closed her eyes, hoping for the best. She put her hands on the earth beneath her, also concentrating on the nearby bucket of water.

The statue arose from the ground in a flash of alchemical light, almost perfect…except…

"Where's his face?" Havoc asked, staring up at the faceless Fuehrer statue blankly.

"Um…" Shinobu didn't understand it, she'd concentrated on the picture of the statue Havoc had shown her in her mind.

Havoc walked around the statue, trying to see if maybe the face was moved somewhere else…it was… "Um, Shinobu, I found his face."

Shinobu ran over to Havoc and fell over, twitching, when she realized where the face had gone.

Mustang was walking up to the two to see how Shinobu was doing and stopped. "Do either of you want to explain to me why the Fuehrer's face is on his horse's ass?"

That's when Havoc started laughing uncontrollably; he was actually on the ground laughing. Mustang was just staring at the statue with confusion.

Shinobu stood up and clapped her hands together, breaking the statue apart into water and earth. "I don't why it ended up like that, I wasn't aiming for that result."

"Well, it's no wonder you got that result though." Mustang sighed. "You need another alchemist to train you, not Havoc."

"Well, that was actually the closest I've gotten to making the statue perfect." Shinobu said, nodding.

Mustang just sighed.

"Wait!" Havoc stopped laughing and stood up. "Are you saying I'm completely incapable of teaching alchemy?!"

"Yes."

Havoc sighed, knowing Mustang was right.

"I guess I **do** need some help with this one. I just don't understand why the Fuehrer wouldn't want me to take the exam. It would give me more time to prepare, and get this right." Shinobu sighed.

Mustang walked over to Shinobu. "Alchemy's actually easier than you think. Just concentrate, you have to flow energy through yourself and the circle."

"Circle?"

Mustang grabbed one of Shinobu's hands and showed her where a circle was on the palm of the glove. "The transmutation circle. Make yourself one with the circle and it will come naturally."

Shinobu shrugged. "If you say it's that easy then why haven't I gotten it right yet…?"

Mustang pointed at Havoc. "Because he's completely useless when it comes to alchemy."

"Hey, I'm not deaf!" Havoc shouted.

"Just try again."

Shinobu sighed and clapped her hands together again, concentrating just a little more. She put her hands on the earth mixed with the water and created another statue. This one came out perfect, just like the original. Shinobu smiled, she was glad it came out right this time.

Mustang smirked, impressed. "Very good."

"Cool!" Havoc said, also impressed.

"Impressive transmutation! But it cannot match the elegant, artistic alchemy of the Armstrong line!" Armstrong yelled as a large statue of himself appeared out of the ground next to the one Shinobu created.

Mustang and Havoc looked over at Armstrong and sighed.

"That was good." Shinobu said, nodding.

"Don't antagonize him!" Mustang and Havoc both shouted.

Armstrong walked over to Shinobu and looked at the statue she made. "Elemental alchemy, very impressive." He smiled, pink sparkles started surrounding his head.

"Um…" Shinobu was confused at the pink sparkles.

Armstrong looked over at Shinobu and gave her a hug – which was more like crushing her – with the waterfall of tears coming from his eyes. "It'll be so good to have you as a part of our military!"

"Air…! A…i…r…!" Shinobu yelled, trying to reestablish a connection with oxygen.

"Major, if you don't want your arms torched, I suggest letting her go." Mustang sighed.

Armstrong nodded and let Shinobu go. She coughed and took deep breaths, trying to catch her breath after getting crushed by the Strong Arm Alchemist. Havoc walked over to her to make sure she was okay.

"He tried to kill me!" Shinobu shouted, pointing at Armstrong.

"Don't worry about him, he's just overdramatic." Mustang sighed.

Armstrong looked at Mustang like he was crazy. "I am not!"

The three other people stared at Armstrong like he'd lost his mind when he said that. Armstrong merely ignored it and walked back the way he came after saying his subordinates probably needed his help with something.

"Anyway, Shinobu, make that statue a couple more times and I'll take you to see the Fuehrer about your state license." Mustang said, nodding.

Shinobu nodded excitedly and clapped her hands together. After a few seconds, Shinobu put her hands on the ground and made another statue.

"Good, but you need to be quicker. In combat, you won't have the few seconds you're using to concentrate." Mustang said sternly. "You need to have your concentration for the transmutation in a split second. Now, try transmuting without clapping your hands together, and make sure you're quick."

"Um… Okay…?" Shinobu held out one hand and concentrated for not even a second before another statue appeared out of the ground after a green glow.

Mustang clapped his hands together twice before saying, "Good, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Very good."

"Thanks." Shinobu said, shocked.

Havoc stared at the statue and mumbled, "It's just like before."

"Huh?" She looked over at Havoc. "Like before???"

"Um, like the statue before. Only you transmuted faster, very good!" Havoc said quickly.

"Thanks." Shinobu smiled. "So, can I go get my state license now?"

Mustang shook his head. "Make the statue again."

"But, you said—"

"Just do it!"

Shinobu sighed and did the same thing as a second ago, making another statue in only a second. "Now?"

"Again."

Shinobu transmuted another statue. "Now?"

"Again."

Shinobu growled in frustration and transmuted one last statue, but this time didn't say anything. That seemed to work, because Mustang told her to follow him to the Fuehrer's office after he destroyed all of the statues.

While they were walking, Shinobu asked, "Why did you destroy all of those statues I worked so hard to transmute?"

"Because Fuehrer Bradley is under the impression that your alchemy is already top rate. We can't have him knowing otherwise." Mustang said calmly.

Shinobu nodded and continued following Mustang through Central HQ until they reached the Fuehrer's office. Once they reached the office, Mustang told her to wait outside the office while he told the Fuehrer she was there.

"You can come in now." Mustang said, opening the door so she could walk inside.

Shinobu walked inside the Fuehrer's office, expecting a power-thirsty looking old guy to be glaring at her. Instead she was greeting with a smiling old guy with an eye-patch over his left eye, and a long black moustache.

"So you're Shinobu? The one who saved Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Havoc, correct…?" Fuehrer Bradley asked, still smiling.

Shinobu nodded once. "Yes, sir."

"I understand that your alchemical abilities are very good."

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, sir, but it's called Rendanshu. Xing's form of alchemy."

Fuehrer Bradley merely laughed and said, "Rendanshu or alchemy, I want you among our State Alchemists. I'll even make you one of the Colonel's subordinates."

Shinobu smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Fuehrer Bradley stood up and walked towards Shinobu. "Follow me so I can see how advanced your Rendanshu, or alchemical skills are." He walked out the door with Shinobu and Mustang following closely behind.

Fuehrer Bradley walked into the courtyard behind Central HQ where Shinobu come from just minutes ago. Havoc wiped some sweat off of his forehead and leaned against the shovel he had buried the remains of the statues with.

"Lieutenant Havoc! What're you doing out here with a shovel?" Fuehrer Bradley asked, confused.

"I was just about to help some of the others with some landscaping for the courtyard." Havoc lied expertly. Lucky for him, there were other soldiers out landscaping the area. "It's good endurance training."

Fuehrer Bradley smiled and said, "Well, if you and the others will wait for the middle, Shinobu here will make a centerpiece for it."

"Yes, sir." Havoc stepped back behind the other three.

Mustang shot him a look that said "you're helping them now", and Havoc nodded and sighed.

Shinobu extended her left arm in front of her body and held her palm out. There was a green-blue alchemical glow followed by a perfectly detailed statue of just the Fuehrer in the uniform he was currently wearing. It was made from earth and some ice from the water that had soaked into the ground. The earth was strong as stone, and the ice added a coat on top of the statue that made it shine in the sun.

Fuehrer Bradley laughed and clapped his hands three or four times. "Very good, very good. I'm impressed, for someone who is accustomed to Rendanshu, you picked up alchemy quite well and fast."

Shinobu faced the Fuehrer and bowed in respect. "Thank you, sir." She smiled as she straightened back into a standing position.

Fuehrer Bradley handed Shinobu a manila envelope that she opened immediately.

"_By the power vested in me as Fuehrer President, I, King Bradley, hereby bestow upon Shinobu the title of… __**Elemental**__._ Elemental?" Shinobu looked over at Fuehrer Bradley confusingly as Mustang handed her a silver pocket watch. "How did you know that I could control earth and water with alchemy?"

Fuehrer Bradley just smiled.

_He must've been watching me practice!_ Shinobu could find no other explanation for it other than her actually being the original Elemental Alchemist who killed the innocent Ishbalan woman. But that was one option she didn't want to believe.

Shinobu realized something then and looked over at Mustang, who controlled fire. "Can I also control fire? And wind as well?"

Mustang nodded. "I'll train you to control fire. Fire alchemy, though, is dangerous."

Shinobu smiled. "Bring it on!"

Fuehrer Bradley laughed and turned around, starting to walk off. "I look forward to you serving this military."

Shinobu smirked and suddenly, without even really thinking, she held her left hand out to her side and created a silver spear from the stone ground of the walkway near them. She grabbed the spear ran behind the Fuehrer and pointed the spear at the Fuehrer as he turned around and blocked her spear with one of his swords.

Mustang and Havoc were in shock; they didn't see that coming.

Fuehrer Bradley simply laughed again and resheathed his sword as Shinobu pulled the spear back.

"You're lucky I wasn't out to seriously kill you. The training they have for teenagers back in Xing in the best." Shinobu said, leaning against the spear she'd secured in the ground.

"Maybe so, but not good enough." Fuehrer Bradley laughed as he walked back inside.

"What's he talk—" As Shinobu was talking to herself, the part of the spear that Bradley had hit with his sword broke off and she fell. "Ow…!" Shinobu mumbled as she clutched the part of her head that hit the ground.

"Shinobu!" Havoc ran over to her. "Are you okay?" He asked, kneeling beside her and helping her stand up.

Mustang sighed and walked over to them. "You know, pointing that spear at the Fuehrer was stupid." He thought of something. "You remind me a lot of a blonde haired punk I haven't seen around headquarters in a long time."

"Yeah, normally Ed comes in at least once a month to check in."

"Who's Ed?" Shinobu asked, curious.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric." Havoc said, looking back over at Shinobu. "He's the youngest to pass the state alchemy exam. At twelve."

"Wow! He's that good?"

Mustang nodded. "But he's an arrogant, blonde haired, punk-ass shrimp."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING 'SHRIMP'?!" Someone said, jumping over Central HQ and landing in front of Mustang.

"Hey Ed." Mustang said calmly, he was used to this by now. "I just **knew** that would get your attention if you were anywhere in Central."

Ed turned to Mustang – he had been facing Havoc – and yelled, "You've got some nerve!" He yelled at Mustang, his golden-blonde hair shone in the sun, matching his gold eyes perfectly. He had on a black jacket with black pants and boots on, his right arm and left leg made completely of auto-mail. "Who're **you** to be calling **me** a shrimp?!"

"I'm your superior officer, I can call you what I want." Mustang said and then whispered something in Ed's ear that made his face turn red with fury and obvious embarrassment.

"If you **ever** call me that, you'll be six-feet under!" Ed yelled.

Shinobu and Havoc both tilted their heads in confusion. "Huh?"

Ed snickered. "Besides, 'Lord' Colonel, you're the one who should be called a shrimp. If everyone else knew what I knew, you'd be ruined."

Mustang's face now turned red. "You arrogant little punk!"

"Stubborn old man!"

"Shrimp!"

"PERVERT!!!"

Shinobu and Havoc were confused beyond either's reckoning. Neither had any idea why Mustang and Ed suddenly started yelling at each other all this random crap, but were enjoying the show… Until…

Mustang grabbed Ed's shoulders and brought the clearly much younger boy to him, kissing him passionately. Ed kissed Mustang back with the same intensity. (Don't ask where that came from, it just happened.)

Shinobu and Havoc both felt their skin rising from the shock, confusion, and plain out creepiness. "Um, um, um, uh… What the hell?!?!"

When Ed and Mustang finally pulled apart, they looked over at Shinobu and Havoc. A look of shock passed over both boys faces, they'd assumed that Shinobu and Havoc left.

Mustang blushed a deeper red than should've been possible. "Um… I can, uh, explain this…?"

Shinobu tilted her head innocently. "So, you two have consensual sex?" She summed that up from them yelling at each other earlier.

Now, Ed blushed too, but he also smiled. "Well, since you put it **that** way…"

Mustang put one hand over Ed's mouth. "Say one more word, and I'll barbeque you, Uke."

"_**WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME**_?!?!"

Shinobu didn't even look over as Havoc fell on the ground and started twitching. "That was more information than needed." Suddenly, she felt dizzy and fell to her knees as voices and images started filling her head.

…

"_Captain Hughes!" Kari shouted, running up to an older man with glasses and a scruffy beard._

_Hughes turned at her voice, his uniform didn't seem to match his laid back personality, but he didn't seem to care. "Second Lieutenant Kari." He saluted. "What is it, ma'am?"_

_Kari sighed. "Stop being so formal, I'm younger than you, Captain Hughes."_

"_I try my best."_

_Kari sighed, "At ease."_

_Hughes relaxed a bit. "So, what do you want?"_

"_It's about Jean, sir. Have you heard anything from him?"_

_Hughes shook his head._

"_Oh…"_

"_I told you, don't worry. Havoc can hold his own, he'll be just fine."_

_Kari looked up at Hughes's face and smiled. "Thank you, sir. You're right."_

"_No problem." He looked at Kari's eyes. "Yours are the same."_

"_Huh?"_

_Hughes shook his head. "It's just something that Mustang and myself have been noticing."_

"_Yourself and Major Mustang? What is it?"_

_Hughes looked at her seriously and said, "Everyone here. Their eyes have become that of a murderer, yours are the same."_

…

Shinobu shook her head and stood up. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out of it, but realized that all three boys were around her.

"Are you okay?" Ed asked her immediately.

Shinobu nodded. "Yeah, don't know what it was."

Havoc sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry me like that! I thought something was seriously wrong with you."

Shinobu smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. It's nothing serious."

Havoc sighed again and smiled. About that time, Bradley walked back out into the courtyard.

"Fuehrer, sir." Mustang saluted. Shinobu, Havoc, and Ed did the same.

"At ease." Bradley said, stopped in front of them. "It seems that Scar has been spotted in the area. I suggest staying here for a while."

"Yes, sir."

Shinobu and Ed sighed. "Why?"

Mustang and Havoc looked at them like they were crazy.

"Scar is a very dangerous man." Bradley looked at Ed. "You should know that full well, Fullmetal."

"I still wanna beat his face in." Ed said calmly.

Shinobu jumped in the air like an excited little kid. "Sounds like fun!"

Bradley shrugged. "Fine, I'll let you two find Scar and discover just how dangerous he is."

"Okay!" Ed and Shinobu both ran out into Central and started looking for Scar.

After nearly thirty minutes of looking, Ed transmuted something that flew at an Ishbalan man wearing sunglasses across the street.

"Found him!" Ed said happily.

Scar had dodged the transmuted rock with practiced ease. "Picking a fight with me, Fullmetal?! You're testing my patience!"

"Am I now? Good!"

Shinobu looked at Scar, the man whose ass she kicked with one simple transmutation just days before. "Scar?"

Scar looked over at Shinobu and his eyes became wide with rage. "You! I thought you were dead! My people said you wandered aimlessly into the desert! You should be dead!"

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Elemental Alchemist!" Scar raised his right hand and thrust it at the ground, sending a column of broken street into the air, aimed at the two State Alchemists.

Next Time;

Amestris – Resembool:

A fight with Scar leaves Ed unable to use his automail and Shinobu injured. But, while Shinobu and Havoc accompany Ed to Resembool to get his automail repaired, they run into someone there that Shinobu really hates.


	6. Amestris: Resembool

**Yes, I am alive!!!! Whahaha! Anways, here's chapter 6, enjoy!**

…

Shinobu and Ed dodged to either side to avoid the column of street. Scar veered to the side of the uplifted street Shinobu was on and pinned her to the ground, with his right hand, by her neck.

"Your death will avenge everyone you murdered, Elemental!" Scar growled.

Shinobu reached out to her left with her hand, causing a part of the ground to hit Scar on the side of his head, sending him flying. She stood back up. "Trying to choke me? That's pathetic!"

Scar stood up and dodged an attack from Ed as he tried to stab the Ishbalan in the back with his alchemy-enhanced automail short sword.

Ed ran over to Shinobu. "Be careful, he could've killed you!"

"No, he couldn't have! He tried choking me, that's all!" Shinobu argued.

"His right arm has an transmutation circle on it that only destroys. He can kill you if he gets his right hand on you, you moron!"

Shinobu launched an earth spike at Scar, who was right behind Ed. "I'm not the one with my back turned on him! You're the moron!"

Ed growled and turned around to try and stab Scar again. His automail arm was caught midair. "You never learn. Do you, Fullmetal?" Scar shattered the automail into thousands of tiny pieces.

Ed dropped to his knees, holding what was left of his automail with his other hand.

"Edward!" Shinobu transmuted a stone spear and tried attacking Scar to keep him away from Ed, but Scar shattered that too.

Scar reached through the dust left over from the stone spear and latched onto her arm with his right hand. "Let's see how badly I can torture you before you admit to your sins!"

She quickly controlled stone to wrap around her arm, under Scar's hand also, before he tried destroying it. She fell backward; her arm had nearly a hundred random cuts bleeding uncontrollably.

_That was close…_ Shinobu looked at Ed. _He did __**that**__ to automail; I can't imagine what he seriously could do to flesh._

Scar rested his hand on Shinobu's forehead. "Do you admit your sins against my people?"

"What sins?"

Scar glared at her. "You were involved in the Ishbalan extermination, were you not…?"

"If I was, I don't remember."

Scar tightened his grip on her forehead and made her look up at him. "How can you not remember what you did to my people?! The blood shed on Ishbala's ground!"

Tears welled up in Shinobu's eyes, she was really gonna die for something she didn't remember. "The first memory I have is of waking up in a bed in the royal palace in Xing."

Scar's face softened as he realized just how honest Shinobu was being. "You were not involved in the extermination of my people?"

Shinobu shook her head, tears slowly rolling down her face. "Even if I was, I don't remember anything before Xing. If I had **any** part in killing off anyone precious to you, please forgive me…but I don't know!"

"Mr. Scar?" A little girl with black hair in four braids trotted up to Scar with a small panda on her shoulder. "What's going on?" She looked at Shinobu, shocked that she saw her. "Shinobu?"

Shinobu looked over at the little girl. "May Chang?"

Scar looked down at May Chang. "You know this girl?"

"Yeah, she's my adopted sister." May Chang shooed Scar's hand off of Shinobu's head. "What're you doing in Amestris? You can't claim the throne since you're not blood of the royal line."

"I know." Shinobu wiped her tears away. "Father sent me here to discover who I truly am. He said that I must've come from Amestris since his guards found me in the Great Desert."

"Oh." May Chang looked at Scar. "Don't try to kill my sister again!"

Scar looked at May Chang seriously. "I won't unless I find that she's somehow connected to the massacre of my people."

"Shinobu's too kind hearted for that."

Scar sighed. "Go back and watch after that buffoon who's tagging along with us."

May Chang nodded once and turned back in the direction she came from.

Scar turned to Ed. "You're lucky…Shinobu, that girl saved your life just now. I was still going to kill you because I know you, even if you don't know yourself."

Shinobu hung her head and held onto her bleeding arm as it became numb from the blood loss.

"But, you, Fullmetal, will not be spared." Scar rested his hand on Ed's head.

Mustang shot a round into the air. "That's enough, Scar." He put one of his gloves on. "You can be charcoal now, or later. Your choice."

Scar glared at Mustang and backed away from Ed. "Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang. You did more damage in the massacre than Elemental."

Roy's face hardened. "You have five seconds."

Scar let go of Ed's head and charged towards Mustang. "I'll get rid of you first."

Mustang snapped his fingers together, sending a flurry of flames at Scar.

As Scar and Mustang were fighting, Shinobu went over to Ed to make sure he was okay. "Ed? Are you okay?"

Ed looked over at her and chuckled. "Guess we should have listened to 'Lord Colonel' more carefully, huh…?"

She chuckled too. "Yeah, we really should have."

"Well, have you two learned your lesson?" A blonde-haired woman asked, kneeling beside them.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Ed looked at her. "Shouldn't you help the Colonel?"

Hawkeye shook her head. "He'll be fine." At that moment, Mustang blew up half off the street. "If he needs help, I'll help, but he'll be just fine."

"Hawkeye?" Shinobu just stared at the blonde Lieutenant. _Why does that name sound so…familiar?_

"Yes. I'm Riza Hawk—" Hawkeye looked at Shinobu and her eyes widened. She fell back onto her butt, surprised at who she saw. _Kari? No, that's not possible, she died during the Ishbal campaign! This is a coincidence!_

"Lieutenant?"

Hawkeye shook her head and cleared her throat. "Forgive me, I thought you were someone I knew. I was mistaken."

Shinobu smiled. "Don't worry. That seems to be happening a lot lately anyway."

Hawkeye's eyes narrowed. "Who else has said that you look familiar?"

Shinobu thought for a moment. "Well, first it was Havoc, then Mustang said something, and I think even King Bradley."

_So it's not a coincidence? They recognize her too? _Hawkeye smiled and held out her hand for Shinobu to take. "I'm First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. You are?"

Shinobu shook Hawkeye's hand. "Shinobu, the Elemental Alchemist."

Hawkeye froze, unable to believe what she heard. _This can't be…is she really…Kari Kyoku?_

"Lieutenant?" Ed looked between the girls. "Shinobu?"

Shinobu pulled her hand away after a moment. "Are you okay?"

Hawkeye shook her head to clear her mind. "Yes. You just remind me so much of a young girl we all used to work beside. She was just as spunky as you are."

Mustang walked over to where the three sat on the ground. "He ran away."

Hawkeye stood up. "Well then, I have to speak with you, Colonel." She looked at Mustang seriously. "It's about the old Elemental Alchemist."

Mustang nodded once and led Hawkeye back over to where the car was. Shinobu looked at Ed's broken automail and sighed.

"This sucks." She chuckled. "What now?"

"I have to go see my mechanic." Ed sighed, obviously dreading the trip. "And she'll rip me apart for what happened."

"Oh…o-okay?"

Havoc ran over to Shinobu and Ed, pushing the Elric brother aside and kneeling in front of Elemental. "Are you alright?"

Shinobu smiled. "Yeah, just a couple of cuts is all."

Havoc sighed in relief. "You need to be more careful. Scar isn't a serial killer for nothing."

Ed sat up and glared at Havoc. "You know, that was mean, pushing me aside like that."

"Really?" Havoc smirked. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"You should be nicer to the injured."

"You hardly classify as injured, twerp."

That's when Ed started screaming that he wasn't a twerp, a shrimp, short, little, or any variation of those words that Havoc never said. Which that, in turn, got him yelled at by the Lieutenant. Shinobu sat there laughing the entire time.

…

Once they were safely back at Central HQ, Ed got chewed out by his brother, Alphonse. Shinobu found it odd about Al's situation. She wasn't told, but, as most people in Xing can do, she didn't sense any life chi inside of the armor. That was enough for her to know that he was only a soul.

"Interesting body, Alphonse." Shinobu smiled. Her arm was wrapped in bandages, though it wasn't stopping the bleeding much. "I'm intrigued, how did you become just a soul?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Shinobu. They wanted an explanation as to how she knew just what Al was.

Shinobu sighed. "In Xing you're taught sense a certain energy called the life chi. It's in everyone in this room," she pointed at Al, "save for you. Therefore, I know you are nothing more than a soul."

"That's amazing." Ed smiled. "Can you teach me?"

Shinobu smiled at the blonde-haired shrimp and replied, "It takes many years to learn how to sense chi on even a small scale. I never finished my training, so I can only sense the living chi of everyone on this floor."

Everyone just stared at Shinobu like she was insane.

"Except…" She looked at Mustang. "Is King Bradley here today?"

Mustang nodded. "Yeah, he walked in his office shortly before we came in this room. Why?"

"Because…the only living chi I can sense coming from his office…is his secretary's. Maybe King Bradley's on a different floor, because otherwise we have two possibilities. Either he's dead, which in that case would mean that we should get him to a coroner, or…he's not human. In that case, I would propose dropping out of the military immediately. Serving under a non-human is not a good idea."

Ed started laughing. "He's probably just on a different floor." He stopped laughing and smiled. "Regardless of that, I have to go get my automail fixed up."

Shinobu stood up. "I'll go with you." She smiled. "I wanna see more of Amestris, and you need a guard."

"I do **not **need a guard!"

"Yeah you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Yeah you do!"

"No I do—"

"Yes, you do." Mustang cut in. "I think sending Shinobu is a great idea. She should see the country she's serving for, plus she is incredibly strong. She's the best choice for a guard, Fullmetal."

Ed just sighed, knowing that he'd lost.

Shinobu smirked. "I knew I'd…win…?" She felt dizzy all of a sudden and dropped to the ground.

…

"_Kari!"_

_Kari turned around at the sound of her name and smiled at her friend. "Hey there Riza!"_

_Hawkeye ran up to her friend and smiled. "How've you been? It's been a while."_

_Kari turned and started walking towards what looked to be a small camp-like-thing up ahead. "I don't know how I've been. This...campaign, as they're calling it, is testing me to my limits. I'm not sure if I can take much more."_

"_I know how you feel." Hawkeye sighed._

_Kari stopped and looked at Hawkeye, her eyes looked the same as hers. "Maes told me something the other day, something him and Roy have been speculating for a while."_

"_What?"_

"_It's about everyone eyes."_

"_What about them?"_

"_They're like that of a murderers." Kari hung her head. "At first, I had no idea what he was talking about, but, when I looked in the mirror this morning, it made sense. This isn't a campaign, this is slaughter! The higher-ups call this a campaign to try to sugar coat the fact that this is nothing short of genocide!"_

_Hawkeye smiled a bit. "That is true, this is genocide." Kari looked up. "But, regardless of that, we have a duty to our country. If we push aside all thought of what this really is, then we can accomplish the duty set in front of us."_

"_How can you say that?"_

"_Because, I—"_

…

"Shinobu, wake up!" Havoc yelled as Shinobu's eyes opened.

She looked around her, confused at what just happened. "What?"

"I'll call for a doctor." Hawkeye said, walking to the phone.

Shinobu bolted into a standing position. "No, I'm fine, really! There's no reason to call a doctor, Riza, I'm perfectly okay."

Hawkeye's hand stopped short of the phone as she looked back at Shinobu. _It's been a long time since that voice called me by my first name. But you're not her…my best friend died during the extermination, and she can never come back._

Hawkeye dropped her hand next to her side. "Fine. If you don't want a doctor, then I won't call one."

Shinobu smiled. "Thanks."

Mustang looked at Havoc. "Go with them to Resembool. If Shinobu passes out again, wake her up quickly."

Havoc nodded once and saluted. "Yes sir!"

…

So, now, Havoc, Shinobu, All, and Ed are all on the train to Resembool. Shinobu and All seemed to be the only excited ones of the four; Ed was dreading facing his mechanic, and Havoc didn't want to travel to boondocks at all. Having been stationed there too many times, there was no way he could ever want to go there…but it had been a direct order…and he **did **want to watch over Shinobu.

Once the train started moving, the boys thought Shinobu was going to have a heart attack. She was bouncing in between both seats, and trying to find out where she wanted to sit because she wanted to most scenic view of Amestris on the way to Resembool. Finally, Havoc made her sit in the seat next to him, nearest the window.

Shinobu smiled as big as possible and stared out of the window for a total of forty minutes before becoming sleepy and passing out on Havoc's shoulder.

…

"_How can you say that?"_

"_Because, I have someone I need to protect. And I'll protect him at any cost."_

_For a moment, Kari thought about it, and then the light finally came on in her head. She smirked. "Go for it. As soon as this is all over, ask him."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Ask Roy Mustang on a date."_

_Hawkeye blushed and shook her head violently. "N-No, I could never do that!"_

"_Why not?" Kari turned around and started walking towards the fire again. "I think you two would make such a nice couple."_

"_Kari!" Hawkeye ran after her friend._

"_Just wait until after this is over…you don't want to do what me and Jean are doing."_

_Hawkeye smiled softly. "But you do love him. I think that you two will be okay."_

_Kari looked back at Hawkeye. "You think?"_

"_Yeah."_

_Kari stopped and looked at the ground sadly. "But, I just haven't heard anything for so long. I'm worried."_

"_As it's said: no news is good news."_

"_Hehe! I guess you're right!" Kari grabbed Hawkeye's arm, dragging her towards the fire. "Lets go get some grub!"_

_Kari stopped at the fire and reached to get some "soup", almost falling into the fire while doing so, but stopped when she happened to glance up. She stood up straight with her bowl in hand as she tried to make out to shadows coming towards them. Everyone else looked in the direction she was, trying to figure out which squad was coming back to the main base._

"_I heard it's the third squad." Some guy said. "They apparently finished the northern sector, and were told to report back here."_

"_Third squad?" Kari mumbled, knowing full well that Hawkeye could hear her._

_About a minute later is when she saw him. He had a few bandages on, but aside from that, he was unscathed. Her eyes welled up with tears. She threw her bowl at Hawkeye and ran towards Havoc._

_When she was close enough, and when he realized she was coming, Kari opened her arms and jumped into Havoc's. "Jean!"_

…

Shinobu opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to wake up just yet, but not wanting to return to the dream. It had been a tame one this time, but she still didn't want to go back to that place. About ten seconds later, Havoc was poking her in the arm.

"Wake up, we're here."

Shinobu opened her eyes and sat up. She looked outside of her window and saw the small train station, behind it was a rural town. This was the town of Resembool.

The four got off the train as fast as possible. They slowly made their way towards the automail shop; mostly because Ed wanted to delay the inevitable beating, but somewhat because Shinobu was so fascinated that she wouldn't walk any faster.

Suddenly, Ed stopped, causing Shinobu to run right into him. She rubbed her nose where she hit it on Ed's head and yelled, "What's the big idea?!"

"You!" Ed yelled, pointing at some black-haired guy in front of them.

Said black-haired guy turned around and smiled at everyone. "Oh, hi there, I never expected to see you here!"

Shinobu glared at him over the top of Ed's head. "Go back to Xing you shifty eyed bastard!"

The "shifty eyed bastard" looked at Shinobu more closely and smiled. "Hey there, Shinobu!"

"Go away, Lin, I don't want to talk to you! In fact, I hate you."

The black-haired, shifty eyed bastard's name was Lin Yao, a prince of Xing. "How dare you say that to your fiancé!"

The four Amestrian boys looked at Shinobu in shock. "**Fiancé**?!"

Shinobu sighed. "We're betrothed."

And he is also betrothed to the one who lost her memory, Shinobu.


	7. I'm Betrothed to the Shifty Eyed Bastard

_I know that chapter title is odd, but I had to! It was there, so I had to!_

_Sorry it took so long to update, but with graduation and life in general getting in the way, it was hard to find any time to write._

…

Shinobu looked between the two military boys in confusion. Was it really that strange?

Havoc recovered first. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think about it. Nor did I think it would matter." She shrugged. "I didn't ever think I'd see him again."

Lin looked a little sad that his fiancé thought so little of him. Regardless, he said, "But, Shinobu, you weren't even supposed to leave Xing. Father was supposed to make sure you didn't wander off."

"He sent me here. He told me to find out who I am, that was his only wish for me from then on." She took another breath, thinking about how to skip the rest of the conversation that she saw coming. "Well, Lin, it was, uh, nice seeing you again," which was an obvious lie coming from her mouth seeing as she had put poison into her voice, "but Ed needs his automail fixed. We have to go."

As Shinobu tried walking past him, Lin grabbed her wrist. "Wait, Shino—" He was cut off abruptly by a foot being plowed into his face – Shinobu's foot, actually.

"I said that we have to go." She glared down at the shifty-eyed bastard. "Stay away from me as well. I really don't **want **to kill you, but if you keep this up, I might just try."

Havoc, Ed, and Al all exchanged the same look of confusion that was on their faces. None of them would have thought Shinobu would ever be so angry at someone that she'd actually threaten their life, but it seemed that that was possible.

Lin stood up from where he had fallen on the ground, and got into a position for fighting with just fists. "Come on then. I've always been better than you."

Shinobu's eye twitched a little bit at that. Even if it was the truth, she hated hearing that the one man she absolutely hated was better than her.

She didn't think, she just ran forward and struck out at Lin with her fist. He dodged easily, with fluid grace, and struck Shinobu in the stomach with the heel of his palm. She stumbled back a little bit, her balance thrown off. He hadn't been trying to attack to injure, as she had, but just to throw her off balance. That was normally what his attacks did, Lin wasn't one to try to seriously hurt those he knew, just get the better of them and wear them down until they give up.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't count on how pissed off Shinobu really was at seeing him.

Shinobu regained her balance quicker than normal and ran at Lin again. This time, as he dodged and went to try and get her off balance again, Shinobu dodged to the left and kicked him in the small of his back. Lin went flying about ten feet from where he had been standing and almost landed into a stone wall face-first.

He stood up and turned around to face the now smirking Shinobu. As he went to run back at her, she knelt down on the ground and put her hands in a transmutation circle that combined the Star of David pattern and the runes in the Elemental transmutation circle, and the pentagram of her Rendanshu. Shinobu lifted one hand off of the circle and threw one of her suntetsu's. As it neared Lin, Shinobu activated the circle, combining the flying knife with the earth around it. The knife became a large, nearly deadly projectile within a few seconds.

Lin turned around and started running away from the large flying earth-knife, and nearly got away. As he was jumping over a stone wall – the same one he almost landed face-first into just a moment ago – the projectile struck him just below his knee and sent him tumbling back and over it. That time, he did land face-first on the top of the stone wall. He fell ungracefully off of it and onto the grass just on the other side. Lin's face was bloody, some of it possibly broken, and he himself was unconscious.

Shinobu walked over to the wall and leaned over it, staring down at him as she said, "You are not better than me. You lose, and we are no longer betrothed. I was never a member of the royal family of Xing, and now I never can be for harming you." She turned back to the other boys. "Well, come on, let's go."

Ed walked right on past Shinobu, ahead of Havoc, her, and Al. He seemed to be unphased, and kind of happy, that Lin was unconscious and wouldn't be waking up for a while. Havoc seemed a little shocked to have seen Shinobu actually go all out on some guy she was supposed to be engaged to, but that was all. Al, on the other hand, was distressed about just leaving Lin lying in the grass with an injured leg, and possibly a broken face.

"Don't worry about it, Alphonse, if I thought he was in danger of dying, I wouldn't have left him there – no matter how much I hate him." Shinobu laughed. "He'll wake up soon and find his way to a doctor."

"O-Okay…" That was all Al could think to say. He was still concerned about Lin, but Shinobu didn't seem too concerned, so he tried not to let it bother him.

A little later, the group was walking through the door of the Rockbell Automail Shop. Ed shouted that him and his brother were there with two extra people. Almost immediately, a skinny teenage girl came jogging down the stairs wearing a black halter-top and the baggy pants of her white jumper, her purple sandals clacked loudly on the stairs. A green bandana held the front her long blonde hair out of her face, while the back of it was bound by a rubber band.

"Edward?" She stopped at the last stair when she saw the missing arm.

Quickly, Ed was turned into a pile of mush by a wrench the girl had pulled out of one of the pockets of her pants. She turned to Al with a glare in her blue eyes. "Explain what happened! I just made that arm for him five months ago, and it's already broken!"

Al tried to begin, "Well, Winry, uh, I honestly don't know wha—"

"How can you not know what happened?!" Winry now hit his metal head with the wrench, sending it flying into the couch on the other end of the room.

Shinobu cleared her throat, grabbing their insane hostess's attention. "I can explain what happened, if you calm down for a moment."

Winry faced Shinobu and Havoc, and nodded. "Of course. But, first, who are you two?"

"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc."

"Shinobu. The Elemental Alchemist."

Winry held out her hand to Shinobu. "It's good to see Ed interacting with other girls besides me and Miss Riza."

Shinobu took the outstretched hand hesitantly, afraid that the blonde would unleash her fury all over her head as well. "I'm glad you think so."

"Now, will you explain what happened to Ed's automail?"

"Of course." Shinobu sat down in the nearest chair, Winry took the one across from her, and began to explain everything from the moment the Fuhrer told them Scar was spotted in Central until the moment she was chosen as one of Ed's escorts.

Winry looked over at Ed, who was now completely himself again, with a sad expression. "I see." She looked over at Shinobu. "It seems that it was a good thing you were there."

Shinobu nodded slowly. "If you think so. I couldn't protect him all that well, but at least I kept Scar's attention off of him for a while."

Winry didn't say anything, and looked at Ed again. "Scar again, Ed?"

Ed hung his head and mumbled, "Yeah…"

"Why do you keep doing this? Are trying to prove that you're invincible?"

"No. Scar needs to be stopped though, Winry. I thought you, of all people, would understand that."

Winry bit her bottom lip. Scar had killed her parents in Ishbal, so of course she understood that he needed to be stopped, but knowing that it was Ed trying to stop him was scaring her.

Shinobu looked at Havoc, who seemed to be looking straight at the wall as if he was trying to give the two some privacy even though he was in the room, and Al, who was sitting on the couch where his head had landed. She looked back over at Winry and said:

"I know you're worried about him, but he'll always come back." Shinobu smiled a little bit when the blonde girl looked at her. "Even in the worst of situations, if you believe he'll come back to you alive, he will." She, of course, was thinking of the visions—memories of her waiting for Havoc to come back – and her more recent one of him coming back as they were still in Ishbal.

Winry smiled back. "Yeah, you're right."

Havoc understood what Shinobu was thinking of when she said that, and he couldn't move. He couldn't believe that she really remembered the Ishbal war, about him returning to the main camp, the camp Kari had been stationed to. He only hoped that she didn't remember what happened shortly after he returned. He let his head drop a bit. If she remembered that, Havoc feared that Shinobu might hate him.

Shinobu stood up and stretched. "If you remember that, you'll have no worries."

Winry chuckled. "I highly doubt that, seeing as he's more reckless than he was as a child, but it might help a bit."

Shinobu smiled wide. "Good to hear." She swayed over into Havoc, who had to catch her quickly, as she became lightheaded.

"Are you okay?!" Havoc asked as soon as he caught her.

"Yeah." She struggled keeping her eyes open. "I guess I just don't travel as well as I thought." She closed her eyes and fell into an unconscious sleep.

…

_"Well, it's time to get to work." A skinny black haired psychopath State Alchemist named Solf J. Kimblee said with enthusiasm as he cracked his knuckles. In the distance, somewhere in the middle of Ishbal, he had already let an explosion rip loose._

_Kari was among the soldiers following Kimblee into the battle. She was following him under orders from the Fuhrer himself, even though he did creep her out._

_Her and the soldiers began to walk forward when something exploded in front of Kimblee. Kari erected a earthen wall to protect her and the soldiers behind her. As the wall shrunk back to the ground, she saw Kimblee holding the corpse of a burned soldier as he complained about his jacket getting dirty._

_Kari held back her comment as she checked on a soldier whose forehead was bleeding. "Are you alright?"_

_The soldier nodded at her. "Yes ma'am, I'll be just fine."_

_"Okay."_

_"Come now, he doesn't need help." Kimblee said as he turned around. "Let's go, Elemental. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to head back to camp."_

_Kari ground her teeth together and said, "I told you, my name's Kari, not Elemental."_

_"While on the field of battle, saying your real name can be life-threatening. That's why you're to call me Red Lotus." Kimblee glanced at her over his shoulder. "Is that clear?"_

_"Crystal." She said with resentment. She hated calling people by aliases or nicknames, and avoided it whenever possible. Now, though, it seemed impossible._

_"Good." He began to walk forward. "Let's go end the lives of those worthless Ishbalans."_

_Her eyes narrowed as she followed Kimblee into the smoldering Ishbalan city. She mumbled under her breath, "I don't think they're worthless…"_

_Regardless of her saying this, at the first sight of the Ishbalan resistance, she attacked without mercy._

…

Shinobu opened her eyes slowly. She sat up in the bed she was lying in and looked around. Other beds, all made up with white sheets and pillows, were in the room.

Shinobu rested her face in her hands, creeped out by the guy she had been following in her dream. Not only by the guy, really, but also by the fact that she had attacked innocent people with no mercy at all.

_What have I done?_


	8. Origin of the Prodigy

Shinobu stood up out of the bed and slowly walked out of the room and into the hallway on the second floor. Downstairs, she could hear Ed, Al, and Havoc talking amongst themselves. She really didn't want to talk to them; all Shinobu wanted right now was some alone time.

To the right, just down the hallway, she heard the sound of metal being forced to merge with metal. She walked quietly down the hall and peeked into the room where the sound was coming from and saw Winry welding to pieces of metal together. Already, the hunk of metal in front of her was becoming the shape that would become Ed's new arm. Needless to say, Shinobu was impressed by Winry's work, and her progress as to how fast she made the arm already.

Quietly, so that she wouldn't be heard, Shinobu crossed the room Winry was working in, and went out the sliding door that led to the balcony just beyond. She closed the door as quietly as she had crossed the room and then turned to lean forward against the white railing that separated her from falling to the dirt ground beneath.

For miles around there was nothing but grass, animals, streams, and a few crops. If Shinobu looked directly ahead, in the direction she and the boys had come from earlier, the train station was barely visible. Here and there, houses and trees dotted the otherwise bare rural village of Resembool. It seemed to her that the most exciting thing to do in this place was to be an automail mechanic like Winry.

At least, that's what Shinobu thought until she spotted, not too far away, the burned remains of a house that once stood next to a tree that had been so blackened by the fire from what could've been a house that it looked capable of snapping in half. She wondered what happened there, and what happened to the family who had lived in that house – if that's what it had been.

"I thought I heard somebody come out here."

Shinobu jumped and turned around to face a smiling Winry. "Winry!" Shinobu bent over, resting her hands on her knees. "Jesus Christ! You scared me half to death!"

Winry giggled. "Sorry about that." She looked in the direction her companion had just been looking; her eyes narrowed. "You're curious about what happened at that house…aren't you?"

Shinobu straightened up and looked back over to the ashes that she had been looking at. "Yeah. I was just wondering; that's all. Y'know, about the people who once lived there, and what burned down the house in the first place. Was there any loss of life…?"

"Life wasn't lost in the fire," Winry said, grabbing Shinobu's attention, "but life was lost in that house."

"Hmm?" Shinobu didn't quite understand. The first thing that came to mind was that someone had been murdered there, but her thoughts were interrupted when Winry said;

"Let's go there. I'll explain everything where no one can hear us."

"Okay." Shinobu followed Winry back inside, spotting the unfinished automail as they past it. "Don't you need to finish Ed's automail though?"

"I need a break anyway." Winry smiled back at Shinobu. "Besides, I've only been working on it for a day and you saw how it's progressing. I deserve a break!"

As the girls walked through the main area of the first floor, Ed asked Winry about his automail. All she said was that he'd have to wait two or three more days before it was finished to perfection. As they left, he was screaming something about her taking a break when she needed to be finishing up his arm.

Winry and Shinobu made idle chit-chat as they walked in the direction of the burned remains of the house. Just small things about the weather, things around the area – that had interested Shinobu the most – and about how reckless Ed was.

They stopped underneath the burned tree that looked like it could snap at any moment. The two stood in front of the ashes that had once been a house.

"Once upon time, Ed wasn't so serious and Al was a human, body and soul." Shinobu didn't look at Winry as the girl spoke, just at the ashes in front of her. "They lived in this house with their mother, Trisha Elric. Their father, Van Hohenheim, had left them when Ed and Al were still boys. Regardless of this, Ed, Al, and their mother lived happy and content.

"Ed and Al first started using alchemy in this house. Their mother bragged to everyone about her amazing sons who learned alchemy from reading a book that their father had left behind." Winry chuckled. "Their usage of alchemy helped everyone around Resembool, made their lives easier. The Elric family…they looked so happy all the time. It was as if nothing could touch them and ruin their perfect lives, their perfect family.

"Unfortunately, life was cruel to them. When Edward and Alphonse were ten- and nine-years-old, they found their mother laying on the kitchen floor dying. It wasn't but a week after, that she died." She sniffed to hold back her emotions as she told this story. "Her death was…hard, for lack of a better word, for Ed and Al. They stayed out at her grave for nearly two days after the services. Soon enough, though, they came to live with me and Granny." Shinobu didn't ask who Granny was, knowing that she'd probably meet her soon.

"It was only a few months later that their alchemy teacher, Izumi Curtis, and her husband stopped here for a place to rest on their way back to Dublith. Like Ed, she could transmute without a circle, and this caught the boys' attention. They became her students immediately, and left for Dublith.

"They never told me and Granny, in full, what happened during their training, and when we asked, they shuddered in fear." Winry laughed at the memory. "Even so, they came back six months after they left, stronger than ever.

"Even with their extensive training, though, Ed and Al did something…stupid." Shinobu looked over at Winry now. "Shortly after their return from Dublith, they tried the one transmutation that is absolutely taboo in alchemy: human transmutation.

"I'm no alchemist, and have knowledge of alchemy, but I do know that human transmutation is a taboo, and illegal by the laws of the state.

"Anyway, it's said that with human transmutation, the dead can come back to life. Needless to say, Ed and Al tried it and failed miserably. Ed lost his left leg, and Al his entire body. In order to save Al, Ed sacrificed his right arm to bind Al's soul to the suit of armor you see today.

"After the shock, and the screaming, me and Granny forgave them, happy that they were at least alive. Only a few days after, an officer from the military came here and offered Ed a position as a State Alchemist if he would recover somehow and meet him in Central.

"Ed was fitted with an automail arm and leg a week later. It took him a year to recover, and when he did, he went for the title of State Alchemist. As you know, he got it—the title of Fullmetal Alchemist. When he got it, him and Al came back here and burned down their house. They didn't even tell us they had done that, but we knew when we saw their back heading towards the train station in the light of that fire."

Winry looked over at Shinobu. "That's…well, that's entire story."

Shinobu looked sadly back over at the ashes. "This was…Ed and Al's childhood home? And they burned it down?"

"Yes."

She shook her head. "Why would they do that? It's not right! They don't understand how important something like a simple home could be, do they? I would give anything, anything at all to remember my childhood home."

"Huh?" Winry was confused.

"I have no memories of my past. My first memory is of waking up in the royal palace in Xing many years ago. I came here to find myself, and found that many people here recognize me for the person I don't remember."

"I see…"

Shinobu looked back over at Winry and smiled. "Thank you for telling me about their past. It must've been as hard on you as it was on them."

"Eh? Well, yeah, but it's not a big deal to talk about it now. Not like it was directly afterward."

"Yeah…"

The two stood their in silence for a while, just staring at the ashes of what used to be the Elric house. They might've stayed there longer if Shinobu's stomach hadn't started violently growling.

Winry started laughing while her new friend began to blush and clutch her stomach. "You're hungry. I would bet after not eating for a while. Come on, let's go home."

Shinobu nodded and followed Winry back to the house. Already there was the smell of some kind of stew spilling from the front door. The two exchanged a look of hunger and ran towards the house to eat.

…

_**Sorry this wasn't a very long chapter, but this was all I had for it.**_


End file.
